Practice ball

ABSTRACT

A practice ball includes a ball having a hole bored partially therein. A flaccid material has a portion thereof disposed in the hole. A retainer is disposed in the hole along with the portion of the flaccid material to restrain the portion of the flaccid material in the hole of the ball.

Pursuant to 35 U.S.C. §119, the benefit of priority from provisional application 61/688,747, with a filing date of May 21, 2012, is claimed for this non-provisional application.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates generally to sports balls, and more particularly to a practice sports ball that can be struck in a normal fashion and yet travel only a short distance along a line in accordance with how the ball was struck.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Becoming proficient at any sport requires practice. Such practice typically includes repetitive drills of some aspect of the particular sport. In ball sports, an athlete usually practices throwing and/or striking a ball in an area designated for such activity. For example, golfers go to driving ranges, baseball/softball players go to batting cages or ball fields, field hockey players go to practice fields, etc. However, it is not always possible or practical to get to one of these designated practice areas. Furthermore, in the ball sports using a solid ball, it is typically necessary practice in wide open or protected areas to prevent accidents or injuries resulting from flying/fast moving balls.

Athletes who want to practice ball strikes in smaller areas (e.g., one's backyard) generally have two options. The first option involves use of a net positioned directly in front of the athlete so that the movement/flight of a struck ball is immediately arrested. The second option involves the use of some sort of lightweight practice ball that does not travel very far when struck. Unfortunately, neither option provides the athlete with an optimal practice experience. While the use of a net does allow the athlete to practice strikes on a regulation ball, the net must be placed close to where the ball is struck to assure capture of well struck and poorly struck balls. However, this also means that the trajectory of the ball cannot be observed thereby preventing the type of feedback that allows an athlete to make adjustments to their body mechanics. The use of lightweight practice balls will generally allow the athlete to observe ball trajectory. However, lightweight practice balls do not provide the same “feel” when struck thereby providing limited value in the eyes of most athletes.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a practice ball.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a practice ball for sports using a solid ball.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a practice ball constructed from a sport's conventional and regulation ball.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a practice ball that can be safely struck in a small area, provide the feel of a sport's regulation ball, and provide trajectory feedback.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become more obvious hereinafter in the specification and drawings.

In accordance with the present invention, a practice ball includes a ball having a hole bored partially therein. A flaccid material has a portion thereof disposed in the hole. A retainer is disposed in the hole along with the portion of the flaccid material to restrain the portion of the flaccid material in the hole of the ball. The remaining portion of the flaccid material extending from the hole in the ball acts as a flight damper.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent upon reference to the following description of the preferred embodiments and to the drawings, wherein corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views of the drawings and wherein:

FIG. 1 is an exploded view of a practice ball's elements prior to the assembly thereof in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a side view of the practice ball's flaccid damper from FIG. 1 with its four vertices positioned adjacent to one another prior to assembly of the practice ball;

FIG. 3 is a side view of the gathered flaccid damper in FIG. 2 with a band wrapped about the gathered vertices;

FIG. 4 is a part side and part cross-sectional view of the practice ball shown in FIG. 1 after the assembly thereof;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a golfer getting ready to strike a practice golf ball in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6A illustrates a rectangular-shaped flaccid damper in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6B illustrates a triangular-shaped flaccid damper in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6C illustrates a pentagon-shaped flaccid damper in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is an exploded view of a practice ball's elements prior to the assembly thereof in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a part side and part cross-sectional view of the practice ball shown in FIG. 7 after the assembly thereof and solidification of the adhesive used to restrain the flaccid damper in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 9 is a part side and part cross-sectional view of a practice ball in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring now to the drawings and more particularly to FIG. 1, the elements of a practice ball in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention are shown prior to their assembly. The elements include a solid ball 12, a piece of flaccid material 14, and a solid pin 16. As will be explained further below, these elements are assembled to form a practice ball (e.g., practice ball 10 shown in FIG. 4) that can be safely struck in a small area, provide the feel of striking a regulation version of ball 12, and provide trajectory feedback.

Solid ball 12 is representative of any regulation solid ball to include a golf ball, a baseball, a softball, a field hockey ball, etc., that is struck during the course of playing the sport using such a ball. Other possibilities include solid balls that are hurled such as lacrosse balls, or other solid sports objects designed to be struck such as hockey pucks. The particular construction of solid ball 12 is not a limitation of the present invention. In accordance with the present invention, solid ball 12 is modified to have a hole 12A formed/bored therein. More specifically, hole 12A extends only partially into ball 12. Structural integrity of ball 12 is best maintained when hole 12A is aligned with the diametric center 12B of ball 12. Hole 12A can be of a length that is shorter than, equal to, or greater than a radius of ball 12 without departing from the scope of the present invention. The method used to form hole 12A can be predicated on the structure of ball 12 and is not a limitation of the present invention.

Flaccid material 14 is a shaped piece of woven or non-woven material. In terms of woven materials, material 14 can be made from natural fibers, man-made fibers, or a combination thereof. Non-woven materials include felts, thin-membrane polymers, plastics, rubbers, etc. Accordingly, flaccid material 14 can be porous or non-porous without departing from the scope of the present invention. In general, material 14 is considerably lighter in weight than solid ball 12, i.e., on the order of 5-15% of the weight of ball 12. The shape of material 14 can be varied without departing from the scope of the present invention. For example, in the illustrated embodiment, material 14 is in the shape of a square such that four sides 14S and four vertices 14A-14D are defined. However, other shapes are possible as will be explained further below. Regardless of its shape, the size of material 14 is generally larger than the diameter of ball 12. For example, when ball 12 is a golf ball (i.e., diameter of approximately 1.75 inches), material 14 in the shape of a square can be approximately 14 inches on a side to produce a good practice ball of the present invention.

Solid pin 16 is sized to be approximately the same dimensions as hole 12A in terms of its length and diameter. To facilitate insertion into hole 12A, pin 16 can be a fluted dowel (i.e., flute ridges denoted by 16A) with tapered ends 16B. Pin 16 could be made from wood, metal, plastic, etc., without departing from the scope of the present invention.

Additional reference will now be made to FIGS. 2-5 to describe the assembly and exemplary use of a practice ball using the above-described elements with the resulting practice ball illustrated in isolation FIG. 4 where it is referenced generally by numeral 100. FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary use of practice ball 100 for practicing golf. As shown in FIG. 2, the four vertices 14A-14D are gathered into an adjacent relationship to one another. The gathered vertices 14A-14D are then placed into hole 12A of ball 12. To keep vertices 14A-14D adjacent to one another during this process, a band 18 (e.g., tape, rubber band, etc.) can be wrapped about or near the gathered vertices 14A-14D as shown in FIG. 3. Band 18 can be inserted into hole 12A along with vertices 14A-14D. Pin 16 is then positioned over hole 12A and is pushed/driven into hole 12A with the gathered vertices of material 14 already in hole 12A. The resulting practice ball 100 (illustrated in FIG. 4) has vertices 14A-14D of material 14 captured of hole 12A by pin 16. Since pin 16 is sized approximately the same as hole 12A, the four vertices are restrained in hole 12A while the remaining body of the flaccid material 14 extends out from hole (as indicated generally by numeral 14E) to form a flight damper. Flight damper 14E is essentially the portion of material 14 not in hole 12A to include the unrestrained portions of sides 14S not in hole 12A.

The advantages of the present invention are numerous. When practice ball 100 is struck (e.g., at a portion thereof that is in approximate diametric opposition to hole 12A), flight damper 14E flutters to negatively affect the normal aerodynamics of ball 12. As a result, practice ball 100 will travel a substantially shorter distance than a regulation ball 12 without flight damper 14A. For example, when ball 12 is a golf ball, it has been found that practice ball 100 only travels about 10-25% of the distance a regulation ball would travel. This allows practice ball 100 to be used safely in most backyard environments. Further, since ball 12 is a regulation ball, the feel upon ball strike will be the same for practice ball 100 as a regulation ball. Still further, since the weight of material 14 is only a small fraction of the weight of ball 12, practice ball 100 will travel some distance thereby allowing the trajectory of practice ball 100 to be observed and used as practice feedback.

As mentioned above, the shape/size of the material used to form the flight damper is not limited to a square as described above. Other rectilinear shapes such as a rectangular-shaped flaccid material 14 (FIG. 6A) could be used. Other possible shapes include triangles (FIG. 6B) and pentagons (FIG. 6C). Indeed, flaccid material 14 could be shaped as any polygon without departing from the scope of the present invention.

Other variations of the present invention are possible without departing from the scope of the present invention. For example, the present invention could be constructed (i) using a flaccid material having no vertices, (ii) using an adhesive instead of pin 16, and/or (iii) restraining a non-peripheral edge portion of the flaccid material in the ball's hole. By way of example, FIGS. 7 and 8 present a construction embodying all three of these options. However, it is to be understood that each of the three options is mutually exclusive and/or could be incorporated into one or more of the previously-described embodiments.

FIG. 7 illustrates the elements of another practice ball, while FIG. 8 illustrates a practice ball 200 assembled from the elements in FIG. 7. The elements include a solid ball 22 with a hole 22A formed/bored therein, a circular flaccid material 24, and a liquid adhesive (e.g., glue, epoxy cement, etc.) 26 in a dispensing container 28. Ball 22/hole 22A have the same attributes as ball 12/hole 12A described above. Material 24 has the same material-choice attributes as material 14 described above. Liquid adhesive 26 is any flowable adhesive that will solidify after some period of time and/or exposure to a curing catalyst.

To construct practice ball 200, liquid adhesive 26 is first poured, injected, etc., into hole 22A. Prior to this, the walls of hole 22A can be roughened, scored, tapped, etc., to provide for better adhesion/bonding with adhesive 26. Next, some portion of material 24 not located at an edge 24S thereof is pushed into hole 22A. For example, a central portion of material 24 could be pushed into hole 22A such that all sides 24S remain out of hole 22A as shown. When adhesive 26 solidifies, adhesive 26 adheres to the walls of hole 22A and to the portion of material 24 stuffed into hole 22A. The portion of material 24 extending from hole 22A (referenced by numeral 24E) becomes the flight damper for practice ball 200.

Although the invention has been described relative to a specific embodiment thereof, there are numerous variations and modifications that will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art in light of the above teachings. For example, FIG. 9 illustrates another practice ball 300 constructed from a hollow ball 32 such as a tennis ball. Similar to the previously-described embodiments, practice ball 300 requires a small hole or slit 32A formed in ball 32 and includes a flaccid material 34 cooperating with hole 32A in order to be coupled to ball 32. For example, flaccid material 34 could be knotted at/near its gathered vertices (as indicated by 34A) with knotted portion 34A being stuffed through hole 32A in ball 32. Another option is to band the vertices as described above with the band providing sufficient diameter to keep it retained in ball 32 once stuffed through hole 32A. Additionally, an adhesive could be applied to hole 32A and the region of flaccid material 34 near hole 32A to retain the flaccid material in place. It is therefore to be understood that, within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced other than as specifically described. 

What is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent of the United States is:
 1. A practice ball, comprising: a ball having a hole bored partially therein; a flaccid material wherein a portion of said flaccid material is disposed in said hole; and a retainer disposed in said hole along with said portion of said flaccid material for restraining said portion of said flaccid material in said hole of said ball.
 2. A practice ball as in claim 1, wherein said ball comprises a solid ball selected from the group consisting of a golf ball, a baseball, a softball, a field hockey ball, and a lacrosse ball.
 3. A practice ball as in claim 1, wherein said flaccid material is selected from the group consisting of woven and non-woven materials.
 4. A practice ball as in claim 1, wherein said flaccid material is in the form of a shape having a plurality of vertices.
 5. A practice ball as in claim 4, wherein said plurality of vertices comprise said portion so-disposed in said hole of said ball.
 6. A practice ball as in claim 1, wherein said portion of said flaccid material so-disposed in said hole is not located at a periphery of said flaccid material.
 7. A practice ball as in claim 1, wherein said retainer is selected from the group consisting of a retainer that is solid when initially disposed in said hole and a retainer that is liquid when initially disposed in said hole.
 8. A practice ball as in claim 1, wherein said hole is aligned with a diametric center of said ball.
 9. A practice ball, comprising: a solid ball having a hole bored partially therein; a flaccid material shaped to define at least three vertices positioned adjacent to one another and disposed in said hole of said solid ball; and a retainer disposed in said hole along with said at least three vertices for restraining said at least three vertices in said hole of said solid ball.
 10. A practice ball as in claim 9, wherein said solid ball is selected from the group consisting of a golf ball, a baseball, a softball, a field hockey ball, and a lacrosse ball.
 11. A practice ball as in claim 9, wherein said flaccid material is selected from the group consisting of woven and non-woven materials.
 12. A practice ball as in claim 9, wherein said flaccid material is in the form of a polygon.
 13. A practice ball as in claim 9, wherein said retainer is selected from the group consisting of a solid retainer and a solidified retainer.
 14. A practice ball as in claim 9, further comprising a band wrapped around flaccid material adjacent to said at least three vertices positioned adjacent to one another, said band being disposed in said hole of said solid ball.
 15. A practice ball as in claim 9, wherein said hole is aligned with a diametric center of said solid ball.
 16. A practice ball, comprising: a solid ball having a hole bored partially therein and aligned with a diametric center of said solid ball; a quadrilateral-shaped flaccid material defining four vertices, said four vertices positioned adjacent to one another and disposed in said hole of said solid ball; and a retainer disposed in said hole along with said four vertices for restraining said four vertices in said hole of said solid ball.
 17. A practice ball as in claim 16, wherein said solid ball is selected from the group consisting of a golf ball, a baseball, a softball, a field hockey ball, and a lacrosse ball.
 18. A practice ball as in claim 16, wherein said flaccid material is selected from the group consisting of woven and non-woven materials.
 19. A practice ball as in claim 16, wherein said retainer is selected from the group consisting of a solid retainer and a solidified retainer.
 20. A practice ball as in claim 19, wherein said solid retainer comprises a fluted dowel.
 21. A practice ball as in claim 19, wherein said solidified retainer comprises an adhesive.
 22. A practice ball as in claim 16, further comprising a band wrapped around said flaccid material adjacent to said four vertices positioned adjacent to one another, said band being disposed in said hole of said solid ball. 